


Fire and Water

by priscilladm



Series: the missing scenes [3]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst, Canon - Anime, Canon - Manga, Canon Compliant, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25410082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/priscilladm/pseuds/priscilladm
Summary: The Mustang unit has been separated, and though he worries about all of his trusted subordinates, there's one he is most worried about: the one closest to him but somehow still so far away.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Series: the missing scenes [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896961
Comments: 13
Kudos: 48





	Fire and Water

Ever since Riza had been placed under Bradley’s watchful eye, Roy was inconsolable.

Part of his troubles, of course, were purely professional. The tight organization of files, tidiness of the office space, the ability to field phone calls on his behalf—those were all the responsibility of his adjutant.

But it was more than that.

They didn’t speak much. It wasn’t in his nature to divulge personal emotions. Most of their interactions were remarkably subtle, like a slight nod of the head or the tap of the boot. They could be together, for hours on end, with not a single word exchanged, and he’d still feel incredibly productive and fulfilled. Sure, they lived under her father’s house as he underwent alchemy training, but what really deepened their bond was surviving a forced, disillusioning genocide in Ishval.

It was an unspoken rule between them that they not talk about what happened there. The goal wasn’t to dwell on the past—the goal was to work towards a better future that would never allow for those crimes to happen again. They would eventually pay for their own involvement in this calculated mass murder, so there wasn’t a need to relive it now.

His heart leapt out of his chest as he heard the phone ring.

 _Who the hell could be calling the office on a Sunday?_ he thought to himself.

“Mustang,” he answered into the phone.

“Colonel Roy Mustang, you had a caller by the name of Elizabeth, with no last name given, at 11 hundred,” stated the operator monotonously. Her tone shifted to one of reluctance once she processed that she actually had him on the line. “My apologies, sir. I did not anticipate you to be in the office on a Sunday so I thought I would be able to send it to your voicemail.”

He blinked. “No problem at all. Put her through.”

He heard the line click to indicate the call had been put through, then the faint sound of a dog panting.

“Hi Roy, it’s Elizabeth. Sorry to interrupt you on a Sunday.” Riza spoke into the phone in her voice, clear as day: intentionally soft-spoken to command attention, with worry and care laced in her tone.

“Elizabeth, to what do I owe this surprise call?” he said jovially. “I don’t think I mentioned having to go into the office today.”

His mind raced as he internally asked dozens of questions: _What’s wrong, Hawkeye? Are you safe? What do you need to tell me? Do I need to do anything?_

She shifted into her signature Elizabeth voice: sticky sweet, higher pitched, slightly coquettish, and somehow still unaware of her beguiling power. “Well, you didn’t, but I hear that lieutenant of yours isn’t with you anymore to carry you.”

He chuckled as he heard Hayate bark excitedly in the background. “Yeah. I’m lacking in a woman’s touch around here in more ways than one.”

Though he couldn’t see her, he imagined a look that was equal parts frustration and embarrassment at the implications of his sentence. Her lips would be pursed to one side, her palm to her temple, shaking her head.

“I’m sure you are, Roy,” she responded, peppered with Elizabeth’s playful giggle. “I’m going to the market for groceries. Care to take a lunch break and join a lady in town today?

He heard the flirtation in her voice, and his heart ached knowing that it was all an act. Elizabeth and Riza were both water, his complete opposite, but in such different ways. Elizabeth was fluid, flexible, whatever he needed her to be at that moment. Riza was cool, collected, and always able to put him out when he needed it. But somehow, even though both of those personalities were his opposite, it still made him feel fire in his throat, heart, and belly.

Elizabeth wasn’t real. The suggestive tone, the inviting words, the poking fun at Riza’s role in his life—it was the complete opposite of who she was. Riza was _real_. So real, in fact, that he had put her in danger in his quest to stamp out corruption. He had vowed to take care of her, and not just because she possessed the flame alchemy secrets.

When he asked her to watch his back, their agreement wasn’t just a one-way street. He didn’t say a word about it to her, but in exchange for her own devotion, he had pledged to keep her safe as well. Not just because Master Hawkeye asked him to, but because she deserved that level of care. It wasn’t as if her father had cared much, given the branding on her back. And the military certainly wasn’t going to take care of her in any remarkable way. So it was on him to make sure that she was safe. Right now, much as he wanted to see her, take her away, and keep her safe, he knew he couldn’t.

What he heard in her flirtation and the few words she said were: _I need to talk to you immediately. I’m worried about you. There are things happening._

But he knew eyes and ears were everywhere. Bradley had told him to be on his best behavior.

He sighed softly. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I can’t today. Be careful.”

He hung up before she could even respond. He stared at the phone, his heart shattered in a million pieces at the uncertainty of their world. He was full of fire, but all he really needed was water.

**Author's Note:**

> I find it easiest to relate to Roy’s perspective, as someone who shares many of his traits myself (deeply caring and overprotective, but unwilling to show it to most people). That being said, I think it would be a good challenge to work on something from Riza’s perspective, so that’s my next goal! I’m having fun with Riza’s codename in my writing so I’d like to create a collection of works that utilize it.


End file.
